Student Organizations & Clubs

Joining a student group is a great way to explore majors in the college of engineering. Whether you want to work hands on with an engineering design project, or you just want to meet other students, it all starts with attending a meeting or contacting one of the officers or the faculty sponsor. Competitions offer opportunities to do hands-on work in a public forum. These events are often sponsored by professional organizations and corporations.

Concrete Canoe »: Civil & Environmental Engineering students race canoes they have planned, built and constructed. As a team, they submit a technical paper on the design and construction of their canoe and give a formal presentation detailing the canoe’s design, construction, racing ability and other innovative features, as well as defend their choices to the judges.
Design/Build/Fly »: Aeronautics & Astronautics students design, build and fly a flight vehicle in the national AIAA Design/Build/Fly competition each year. The UW DBF team is run by students to give them hands-on experience while applying the skills they learn in the classroom to a real-life problem.
EcoCAR2 »: Three-year student competition sponsored by GM and the U.S. Department of Energy. Students convert a Chevy Malibu to a hybrid vehicle. The team designs and integrates advanced vehicle technology powertrains and controls to develop their vehicle solutions to reduce emissions. Student Contact: Trevor Fayer. Faculty adviser: Prof. Brian Fabien
Environmental Innovation Challenge »: Interdisciplinary student teams from across Washington state compete for a chance to win experience, exposure, and $10,000 by developing clean tech solutions for today's environmental issues.
First Robotics »: Run by Mechanical Engineering, students design, build and fly a autonomous quadcopter at competition. Student Contact: Tyler Habowski. Faculty adviser: Prof. Per Reinhall.
Human Powered Submarine »: The Human Powered Submarine program, run by Mechanical Engineering, is comprised of engineering students from many disciplines. Students design, build, and test a fully functional submersible vehicle in nine months. The finished submarine competes in an international race against other colleges, universities and private businesses.
iGEM Synthetic Biology Competition »: Annual competition of the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition. Undergrad teams work from provided kits of biological parts to build biological systems and operate them in living cells. Read about UW's world championship team. Contact: Aaron Chevalier.
Formula SAE Competition »: Students become part of a manufacturing firm that must produce four race cars a day, providing excellent handling, braking, and acceleration capabilities while considering affordability, ease of maintenance, reliability, ergonomics and aesthetics.
Steel Bridge Competition »: Undergraduates in Civil & Environmental Engineering compete in the annual event held by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). The UW Steel Bridge Team designs, fabricates, tests and competes with a 1/5th-scale steel bridge against teams from universities across the country.
Engineers Without Borders »: Students work with disadvantaged communities worldwide to improve their quality of life through environmentally sustainable, equitable and economical engineering projects.
Faculty sponsor: Susan Bolton & Mark Benjamin
National Society of Black Engineers »: With a mission to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community, NSBE sponsors a career fair and other events.
Faculty sponsor: Diane Martin (staff)
Science & Engineering Business Association »: SEBA aims to inspire an entrepreneurial spirit among student members by hosting events that allow them to interact with and learn from the business community.
Faculty sponsor: Connie Bourassa-Shaw, Pierre Mourad and Buddy Ratner
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers »: SHPE is social-technical organization whose primary function is to enhance and achieve the potential of Hispanics in engineering, math and science.
Advising sponsor: Cathryne Jordan
Society of Women Engineers »: SWE offers scholarships, sponsorship of fun competitions, job and internship search resources, and recognition of outstanding achievements through awards.